This is Where the World Ends by Amy Zhang Review

screen-shot-2016-10-06-at-8-27-14-pm

Title: This Is Where the World Ends
Author: Amy Zhang
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary
Publication Date: March 22nd, 2016
Pages: 304
Publishers: Greenwillow Books
Rating:

Goodreads Synopsis:

Janie and Micah, Micah and Janie. That’s how it’s been ever since elementary school, when Janie Vivien moved next door. Janie says Micah is everything she is not. Where Micah is shy, Janie is outgoing. Where Micah loves music, Janie loves art. It’s the perfect friendship—as long as no one finds out about it. But then Janie goes missing and everything Micah thought he knew about his best friend is colored with doubt.

Using a nonlinear writing style and dual narrators, Amy Zhang reveals the circumstances surrounding Janie’s disappearance in a second novel.

24039424

Honestly, I don’t know what to think, to some degree I thought it was okay, but I also hated it..

The plot is just.. I don’t know!

So first of all, I could not connect to any of the characters.. Which isn’t a good thing while reading a book.
Secondly even though Amy Zhang’s writing style is very good, how this book was laid out was beyond confusing.. The book skipped from ‘Before’ and ‘After’ which wasn’t too bad, there are dates so you can kinda keep track of the timing, but the fact that the story was coming from both Janie and Micah at different times made it so hard and confusing.. You didn’t know who was talking or who things were happening to. This really annoyed me throughout the book because instead of focusing on the story you were spending a couple of pages trying to figure out whose point of view you were looking from. I would much prefer to just know straight of who the view is coming from and then concentrating on the story itself.

Next, why are they drinking so much?!? I get the main idea is that life is shit, but until Janie actually goes missing what the hell have they got to worry about so much. You don’t find out why they are so depressed or whatever they are, which really frustrated me as someone who likes to know the backstory of characters, to get to know them and connect with them.
And how old are these two? I know they are in highschool so, how the hell can they get so much alcohol all the time? Like I’m guessing this is America, so the drinking age is 21 isn’t it?! How does like 15 year olds or something get so much alcohol, are they stealing it?!

There are also so many things that were left unexplained or there were bits of information that were thrown in that felt like they had no meaning towards the story whatsoever.

I’m done, this whole book was confusing, annoying and I didn’t like it at all..